as bad as things are, 40% of people think that the country is heading on the right track. and that tells all of us, especially the polling experts, wendy, that people are feeling better about the direction of the country, and so they have to feel really badly about the country, if they wanted to eject the current president of the united states and take a bet on someone they don't know very well. that's the final thing. mitt romney is way behind president obama in popularity. and that's his challenge tonight. mitt romney has to come out here tonight and try to be nice, and affable and likable and get past that 47% comment that he made, which seemed to be writing off half of the american voters. at the same time he's got to be tough and aggressive and try to rattle president obama. and that is a very hard combination. >> all right. andrea mitchell, always good to hear your comments on this. and you are joining the team coverage for tonight's big debate showdown coming up on "nightly news" with brian williams. >> thanks. >> thank you. >>> would you be willing to pay an extra